This children’s sermon was given virtually on Palm Sunday, 2021.
Good morning girls and boys! I’m so glad you’re with us today. Happy Palm Sunday! Did you wave your palms yet this morning? It’s not too late. They can be real palms or ones you’ve made or some other branches from your yard. We wave palms to help us remember today’s story, story of a parade. A parade that started Holy Week. Do you remember the story?
Jesus and his friends get near Jerusalem and he sends two of them to the next village. He says that as soon as they get there they’ll find a colt tied there that hasn’t been ridden. Untie it and bring it to him. If anybody asks why, say The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately. So they did that. They brought it to him, threw their cloaks on it and he sat on it and they entered Jerusalem. As he rode in, what did people do? They spread their cloaks on the road and palm branches and shouted, Hosanna, Hosanna is like “Yay you!” “We love you! We adore you!” Jesus went into the temple and then he went out and back to Bethany with his friends.
Today is the beginning of Holy Week. Holy Week is a story week. Something happens in the story every day. The week starts out happy, with a fun parade. He was like a king! (Show crown) They were treating him like royalty, making a carpet for him to ride on. But as the week went on, did it stay that way?” No.
It’s hard to read the rest of the story. Some of the chapters are really sad and some are scary. Jesus knows and tells his friends that bad things are about to happen to him. He will be handed over to soldiers and they will hurt him and he will die on a cross. He will not wear a king’s crown but a crown of thorns like this one. But is that the end of the story? No. I promise, it has a really really happy ending. Next Sunday, Easter morning we get to hear it!
I don’t like scary stories. So do you know what I do to help myself, when I hear the scary parts I whisper into my hands a secret Alleluiah! There’s a tradition that we don’t say Alleluiah aloud during Lent. But next Sunday on Easter, we will! We won’t be able to help it! On account of the happy ending! It’s the best news. But for now, we can celebrate the first part of the story, and walk with Jesus through the hard parts. Just like Jesus walks with us through our hard parts.
Let’s pray: Dear God, thank you for your son Jesus and the love and strength he showed when times were easy and when they were really hard. We love you God. Amen.
